Michael Bisping became a UFC champion despite being blind in one eye. He admits he continued fighting by lying on vision tests to get medical clearance.
Bisping`s eye problems started after a head kick from Vitor Belfort in 2013, causing a detached retina. He now uses a prosthetic eye cover and has been legally blind in his right eye for years despite several surgeries.
The detached retina from the Belfort fight was just the beginning of his eye troubles, as Bisping mentioned on his YouTube channel.
While training for a UFC fight in Manchester against Mark Munoz, Bisping re-detached his retina during hard sparring. He joked that it was so intense that sparring partners also got injured.
After another surgery, Bisping developed glaucoma and had more surgeries. In total, he had six or seven eye surgeries, and after one of the last ones, he learned he had lost sight in that eye.
Despite losing his sight, Bisping never considered retiring.
Bisping learned after surgery he would never see again in that eye, but he continued fighting. He admitted to lying and cheating on vision tests, which was very stressful.
Fighters need to pass vision tests before competitions. Bisping explained how he bypassed these tests despite being blind in one eye.
Bisping remembers an eye test with a doctor in England. He explained he memorized eye charts because the minimum vision requirement was 20/200, which is just the top big letter and the two below it on older charts.
During the test, Bisping pretended to read just the top lines. The doctor passed him but warned him about the risk of going completely blind if his good eye was damaged. Bisping acknowledged the warning but didn`t actually plan to stop fighting.
Bisping continued to cheat on vision tests, even before his championship fight against Luke Rockhold, which he won by knockout.
Bisping explained he had to deceive doctors to continue fighting. He admitted to taking advantage of kind doctors to pass the necessary medical checks.
After passing the test in England, Bisping felt relieved because it meant he could continue his career, support his family, and eventually become a champion. He is proud of this achievement, especially doing it with one eye.
While fighting, Bisping was mainly focused on passing medicals. Later, as he moved into television, he realized he needed to address the appearance of his blind eye.
This led him to get a prosthetic eye cover, which he still wears. It`s designed to look like a real eye, but he has been blind in his right eye for many years.
Wesley Dunham